It Seemed My Fiancé Hated Me, So I Distanced Myself—But for Some Reason, He Complained - Chapter 20

While I was hesitating, a familiar shade of brown hair suddenly caught my eye at the edge of my vision.

It was Lord Ryan. He was staring at me with a dumbfounded expression.

Chelsea beside him didn’t seem to recognize me, merely casting an uninterested glance in my direction.

“Your fiancé looks quite shocked,” Prince Lucas said cheerfully. “I suppose he never knew your true face was this beautiful? Even when Clarissa hides her eyes, her movements and posture are elegant – what a man with no taste.”

But I knew that wasn’t what Lord Ryan was thinking. Lord Ryan knew my true face.

When I was young, before I realized I was ugly, Lord Ryan saw my face and said I had “disgusting colored eyes.” He told me to hide such eyes from then on.

Since that day, I became afraid to show my eyes to others.

“…Clarissa, is something wrong? Are you alright?”

“…I’m fine. Please don’t worry about me.”

When the prince peered at me with concern, I hurriedly forced a smile.

Remembering unpleasant things had made me feel gloomy. Since I was participating as the prince’s partner, however imperfectly, I needed to avoid looking so dark.

Prince Lucas watched me struggling to smile with continued concern.

All the while, I could feel Lord Ryan’s sharp, piercing gaze from across the room.

When the party began and the socializing started, I was immediately surrounded by people.

“Prince Lucas, who might the lady beside you be?”

“Now who could she be?” Prince Lucas chuckled ambiguously at the curious young nobleman’s question.

None of the gathered people seemed to recognize me as Clarissa of the Meriam family.

“Prince Lucas, could that lady perhaps be your fiancée?” one of the young ladies asked with a dreamy expression. The sudden question made me fluster.

But the prince answered without showing any disturbance. “No, she’s just accompanying me to today’s party because I asked her to.”

“Oh, is that so?” the young lady said, sounding somewhat disappointed. The prince continued in a cheerful voice, “Though I wish she would become my fiancée.”

At Prince Lucas’s words, the people surrounding us immediately began buzzing with excitement.

When the young ladies pressed me with questions like “What do you think about that?” I became thoroughly confused.

Though they asked with great curiosity, I didn’t sense any jealousy or hostility in their questions – quite different from when I was scorned as the “cinder girl” beside Lord Ryan.

While finding it strange, I was also perplexed about how I should behave.

“My lady, please don’t shake her resolve – I’m currently in the middle of courting her. I’d be troubled if she ran away,” Prince Lucas said with a laugh when I struggled to respond.

The young lady retreated with an exaggerated gesture, saying “My apologies.”

After that, I was bombarded with questions one after another until I was completely exhausted. This was the first time I had ever been the center of attention at a party like this.